Most Obnoxious Cowboy Read online

  Most Obnoxious Cowboy

  J. S. COOPER

  Copyright © 2022 by J. S. Cooper

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  Connect With Me

  Acknowledgments

  About This Book

  Arya Waterstone never thought she’d be a single mom—especially not to her sister’s child. But now that her irresponsible sister has run off with a rodeo cowboy, she has taken responsibility for her adorable niece, Eloise. When she showed up at Horseshoe Ranch hoping to find Eloise’s father, she never expected to meet a wonderful family like the Hamiltons. Or their third son, Chet.

  * * *

  Chet Hamilton is as obnoxious as he is handsome. A tall, gorgeous man who is annoyingly charming and bossy. When he tries to stop her from getting a job at a local bar, Arya knows she has to leave the ranch and get her own place. She doesn’t want to leave the comfort of Horseshoe Ranch, but she doesn’t need the complications that she knows Chet Hamilton will bring to her life—even if he is determined to flirt his way into her good graces.

  Chapter One

  Arya

  * * *

  The sound of the horses grazing in the field behind me was soothing. Holding the sack of apples I’d brought from the kitchen, I headed towards the mares closest to me. Arabella, the chestnut brown mare that was a particular favorite of mine, glanced at me, a keenness in her eyes that made me smile. Sometimes, I really thought that animals understood a lot more than we gave them credit for.

  “Hey, girl.” I opened up the bag and pulled out an apple. It sat on the palm of my hand as Arabella sniffed her way to me eagerly. “You can only have one today, Arabella.”

  I laughed as she grabbed the apple and munched on it happily. I ran my fingers through her long mane and patted the side of her face.

  “You really are a beautiful horse, aren’t you?” I gazed at the other horses behind her and quickly continued. “Not that all of you aren’t gorgeous as well.” I surveyed the green fields and beyond, the Bitterroot Mountains in the distance, tall and majestic. The Hamilton property stretched far and wide, and I never ceased to be amazed by how much land they owned. For all that they were incredibly wealthy, they were also incredibly kind.

  I jumped up onto the solid wood fence and sat there, looking up at the white fluffy clouds above me, feeling peaceful and calm. It was nice to have these moments to myself, moments when I could just think and process my life.

  Eloise was in the kitchen with Amelia Hamilton, the matriarch of the family, helping her bake something. I knew that both of them enjoyed their time together immensely. Amelia was married to Ranger, a serious man with twinkling blue eyes that followed her around the room with love. They had seven sons, all of whom were strong, rugged, and handsome. Until recently, they had all been single, but now the two eldest, Beau and Austin, were engaged to two best friends, Olivia and Lucy, and their youngest son, Wyatt, had just gotten together with his best friend, Sadie.

  That left four other equally handsome sons and a whole heap of testosterone in the house.

  I’d initially come to Horseshoe Ranch because I’d believed the eldest son, Beau, was my niece Eloise’s father, but that had turned out not to be the case. Which hadn’t really surprised me.

  My younger sister, Eloise’s mother, had always been a bit of a liar and a manipulator and when she’d run away to be with a rodeo cowboy, I hadn’t been that shocked. I’d been more devastated for Eloise, who was still too young to fully realize what had happened. I thanked God every day that she was still a happy, well-adjusted girl, even though her mother had run off and we had no idea who her father was.

  I loved my niece, but sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of having to look after her. I had no job, nowhere to live, no savings, and no other family to depend upon. Sometimes I felt like I was one day away from being on the streets, and that scared the living daylights out of me. I knew that if that happened, Eloise would be taken away from me and put in foster care, and there was no way that I would let that happen. She was my absolute world.

  I felt myself tearing up as a flock of birds soared overhead. I wondered where they were going. I loved being here on the ranch—it was the first place in my life that I’d ever felt truly comfortable and happy—but it wasn’t my home. The Hamilton family had taken me in and provided me shelter and food, but I was starting to feel like I was taking advantage of their kindness. I wasn’t providing anything, and I didn’t like feeling like I was using them. Even though they had never so much as hinted that they thought that I had outstayed my welcome, I still felt self-conscious.

  “It’s time to move on, Arya,” I whispered to myself.

  I pulled out my phone and pressed play on the last message I’d received from Chip, the owner of 12 Point Buck Bar. He’d offered me a job as a bartender and the use of the apartment above the bar, for free. He was a nice man, and I was excited to finally be able to make some money. I’d miss not being here on the ranch, though. I’d miss all of the crazy Hamilton family as well. They were some of the best people I’d ever met in my life.

  “Arya, there you are!”

  Lucy ran towards me, her long blonde hair flying in the wind. Lucy was engaged to Austin, and had actually moved to Montana from New York, though she’d already adapted well to living here.

  “Hi, Lucy. I was just feeding the horses some apples.” I held up the bag next to me. “Well, only Arabella got an apple,” I admitted. “What’s up?”

  “Oh, not much. Sadie, Olivia, and I were wondering if you’d like to have a girls’ night tonight? We were thinking we could do our nails and stuff. Sadie just got a new shipment of some cool supplies from Korea.”

  “Korea?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s pretty far away.”

  “It is,” Lucy agreed. “But they have the best beauty products. We can do facemasks and gossip about boys.”

  “That sounds like fun. I’d love to join.” I didn’t tell her that I would feel slightly left out as I had no man to gossip about.

  “Yay!” She grinned as she jumped up onto the fence next to me. “It really is beautiful here, isn’t it?”

  “I could sit here all day and just watch the animals,” I said. “It’s so quiet and peaceful.”

  “So different from where I used to live,” Lucy agreed. “I can’t believe I’m pretty much a cowgirl now!”

  “Do you miss New York?” I cocked my head to the side and gazed at her curiously. “You lived there your whole life, right?”

  “Yeah.” Her face was thoughtful as she looked around. “Sometimes I miss it. Not much. I miss the memories more…” She paused and took a deep breath. “When I think about my mom and the things that we did, well, most of my memories of her are in New York.” She sighed. “I mi
ss not being around those places because I feel like I would feel her spirit there, you know.”

  “I get it.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “You must miss her a lot.”

  “I do.” She smiled gratefully and quickly wiped a tear away. “Sometimes, I feel so happy and grateful to be alive and then other days, I wake up and I just want to call her and say hello.” She looked down. “I want to tell her about Austin and how in love I am and how great he is. I want her to meet him.” She took a deep breath. “Sorry, I don’t want to depress you.”

  “You’re not depressing me. I totally get it.”

  “Your parents are in Montana as well?”

  My insides curled up with dread. ”We’re not close.”

  I didn’t tell her that my dad was an alcoholic, and my mother encouraged his drinking because she liked him being dependent on her. I didn’t tell her that both of them had a meth problem. A part of me was too sad to talk about it and the other part of me was too embarrassed. I was ashamed of my parents. I hated them for choosing the drugs over their kids. And that way I couldn’t really hate my sister. She’d escaped that life the only way she’d known how. She was a shit mother, but I was still proud that neither one of us had succumbed to drug use. We were just a statistic to the rest of the world. In school, the kids had whispered words like “trailer trash” behind our backs. My sister had gotten by on her back and I had gotten by burying my nose in books.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Lucy said softly, wincing as if she regretted asking me about my parents.

  “It’s okay.” I shrugged. “We don’t all get great parents. Maybe that’s why I like being around the Hamiltons so much. They remind me that it is possible to have a family that’s not totally screwed up.”

  “Yes and amen to that,” Lucy agreed. “They’re wonderful.”

  “I know.” I jumped down off the fence, feeling slightly morose. “Shall we go inside? I don’t want Amelia to think that I’m treating her like some sort of unpaid babysitter.”

  “You know she doesn’t mind. Eloise is a sweetheart.” Lucy jumped down as well and we headed back towards the house. “They’re baking some sort of apple cake right now, and the kitchen smells absolutely divine.”

  “Yummy! I think I will definitely be snatching a slice or two when it comes out of the oven.”

  “If the boys don’t eat it all first.” We both burst out laughing. “By the way, I think Chet is back tomorrow,” Lucy added.

  “Oh yeah?” I asked innocently as my ears perked up and my heart started racing.

  Chet Hamilton was the third oldest son, and when I’d first laid eyes on him, I’d thought my heart might beat right out of my chest. He was absolutely the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in my life. And his blue eyes were the most devious delicious peepers I’d ever looked into. He constantly walked around in tight jeans, a Stetson hat, and an air of confidence that made you want to kiss and smack him at the same time.

  “Yes,” Lucy gave me a sideways glance. “Just thought you might want to know.”

  “Makes no difference to me.” I shrugged, but all of a sudden, I couldn’t wait for the next day to arrive. Chet Hamilton was the sort of cowboy that dreams were made of.

  Chapter Two

  Chet

  * * *

  “Oh boy, get out of the kitchen fast.” My brother Flint grabbed an apple as he headed to the French doors at the back of the house, a pep in his step I hadn’t seen since the last time we’d gone to a rodeo.

  “Huh? What’s going on?” I looked up from my bowl of cereal. I’d just gotten back to the ranch about thirty minutes ago and I was hungry.

  “Mom has a stack of wedding magazines that she’s going over with the girls.” Flint rolled his eyes. “And you know what that means.”

  “What?”

  “We’re next!”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, Beau, Austin, and Wyatt are all engaged now. That means we’re next on her hit list, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not done sowing my wild oats yet.” He laughed as he opened the door. “So, you coming?”

  “Fine,” I mumbled. “I haven’t even finished my cereal yet.”

  I pushed the chair back, grabbed an apple, and hurried to the back door as I heard women’s giggles approaching the kitchen. Olivia, Sadie, and Lucy were talking about going into town to look for wedding dresses. That was not a conversation I wanted any part of.

  Flint and I closed the doors behind us and headed into the backyard. I took a bite of my apple and ran down the steps, following Flint towards the stables when I heard the sound of singing coming from the fields to the right. I looked over to a vision of yellow. Arya and her niece Eloise were picking daisies and singing.

  I stopped, smiling at the sight of them making a daisy chain, and headed over to them.

  “Making a crown for me?” I asked. Eloise squealed and jumped up off the grass and ran to me.

  “Uncle Chet!” She giggled as she grabbed my hand. “We’re singing songs.”

  “I heard.” I beamed down at her. Arya stood up and brushed some grass off of the front of her bright yellow dress. “Hi.” I waved at her, trying to ignore how the sun seemed to make her skin glow.

  “Hi Chet, how’s it going?” Arya asked.

  “Just trying to avoid Ma and that devious glint in her eyes.” I grinned to show I was just joking. I loved my mom, even if she was one of the most meddlesome women I knew. People thought Amelia Hamilton was a sweet innocent older woman. I knew better. In fact, all of us Hamilton men knew better.

  “She trying to hook up another one of your brothers?” Arya laughed happily. She was a different woman than the one who had shown up a few months ago with Eloise by her side, looking for Eloise’s father.

  “My mom won’t be happy until we’re all married off with kids.” I shuddered. “And now that Beau, Austin, and Wyatt are settled down, she’ll be looking at me, Knox, Huck, and Flint.”

  “I think the four of you will be very hard to marry off.” There was a twinkle of mischief in Arya’s eyes. I wondered what she would do if I told her I wanted to kiss her. Not that I could say anything in front of Eloise, of course.

  “Oh yeah?” I cocked my head to the side and smiled widely, trying to banish my impure thoughts. “And why is that?”

  “You all seem very opposed to marriage.” She turned to check on Eloise. “Okay, no more daisies, honey. I think we have enough.”

  “What are you going to do with the rest of those daisies?” I asked. Eloise had one of the daisy chain crowns on her head, making her look like a fairy princess. She and Arya both looked like characters from a fairytale.

  “I’m going to play he loves me, he loves me not.” She started pulling off the petals.

  “Aren’t you too young to be worrying if he loves you or not?”

  “He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not,” she murmured in response. I turned to look at Arya, who was watching her with an indulgent gaze. “Does she have a boy she’s thinking about when she pulls those petals?”

  “I think any boy will do.” She cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Actually, I wanted to let you know that Eloise and I are moving out next week.”

  “What?” My smile faded and I could feel the tension rising in my lower back towards my shoulders. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, we’ll be living in the apartment above 12 Point Buck Bar. I start working there—”

  I cut her off. “I thought I already told you what I thought about that. That’s not a place for you to be working. Who’s going to watch Eloise?”

  “Well, your mom and Sadie have offered, and then I figured I’d get a sitter.” She sighed. “You know I can’t just stay here, Chet. I’m not even family.”

  “This isn’t going to work for me, Arya.”

  I was getting heated. Was she crazy? Did she really think that working at a bar with a bunch of drunk men was a good idea? What if they hit on her?
br />   Her forehead wrinkled in the beginnings of a frown. “What are you talking about, Chet?”

  “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be living on top of the bar.”

  I knew I sounded bossy, but I didn’t care. Arya was a beautiful woman, and I knew the sort of men that went to 12 Point Buck Bar. They were just looking for a good time, and when they had enough drinks in them, they wouldn’t want to take no for an answer. And it wasn’t like I could hang out there every night and look out for her.

  “I really appreciate your concern, Chet, but I’ve been looking after myself for a long time now, and I think I’m capable of telling some guys where to get off if they get out of line.”

  I could tell by the look on her face that she was annoyed. But I had six brothers who got annoyed at me every day; I didn’t care how many faces she gave me. That wasn’t going to stop me from telling her exactly what I thought. And I wasn’t going to let her move to the bar. It was as simple as that. She could either decide to stay on the ranch of her own volition, or I was going to make her stay. No matter what it took.

  Chapter Three

  Arya

  * * *

  Chet Hamilton was one of the most obstinate, arrogant, annoying men I’d ever met in my life. He was also one of the most handsome.

  He was quite possibly the most gorgeous man in Montana. With his big blue eyes and dark brown hair, he had the sort of looks that would have every woman over eighteen swooning. He was probably the best-looking Hamilton brother of all of them, and that was saying something as the entire family was gorgeous.